Completed Event: Wrestling versus NCAA Championship on March 20, 2025 , , NTS
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Photo by: Duke Athletics
Wrestling Up: 2024-25 Season Sees Wallace on the Rise
2/4/2025 9:00:00 AM | Wrestling
DURHAM, N.C.-- "In the 165 pound weight class for your Blue Devils, Aidan Wallace!" rings across the mat in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Wallace steps up onto the mat to cheers of "Wally!", a nickname shared among his team and fans. His demeanor is confident as he faces his opponent and the whistle blows, marking the start of what's definitely going to be another exciting match.
The redshirt freshman has every reason to exude self-confidence: his progress has positively exploded this 2024-25 wrestling season. Wallace currently boasts a 22-6 ledger, ranking tied for third in Duke's record books at 165 pounds since 1999. His performance on the mat has put his name up in the rankings, where he sits at 26th in his weight class nationally via the most recent NCAA Coaches' Rankings. Wallace has also climbed to 27th in FloWrestling, 28th in Intermat and 30th in the WrestleStat rankings at 165 pounds.
Yet, no such achievements come easily, and Wallace is an example of how far hard work, resilience, and humility can take you.
"It's awesome, but it's not over yet," said Wallace about his accolades this season. "We want to just keep going, take it match-by-match and day-by-day."
'Day-by-day' is an attitude that Wallace has carried with him throughout his wrestling career. The redshirt freshman's journey started in his hometown of Mahwah, New Jersey, where he spent his childhood playing sports like soccer, lacrosse and football on top of wrestling. Once he entered the wrestling club scene, his competitive spirit only grew from there.
"When I got into club, there would be some guys that would beat me in the town tournaments," commented Wallace. "But I kept training in the off-season and seeing results, and then started beating those guys. It was great. Once that happened and I got to high school, I stuck with wrestling."
Upon entering his freshman year at Bergen Catholic, Wallace not only set his sights on making the starting lineup, but also on elevating his performance on the mat.
"That was another successful goal for me, being in the starting lineup, and I was very excited. Then I thought 'Alright, let's not just start,'" said Wallace. "'Let's win. Let's represent myself, my family, my name and Bergen Catholic.'"
Wallace's talent and grit did not go unnoticed – at the end of his freshman year, his high school coach let him know that college programs were beginning to express interest. Once the contact period in his recruiting process arrived, Wallace got a call from Duke wrestling head coach Glen Lanham.
"When I saw that [phone] number pop up – it said 'North Carolina' – I knew it was him. I was very excited. Duke has definitely been a school I've always wanted to go to since I was little."
Wallace had grown up with family friends who were Duke basketball fans and trained at the same club with Blue Devil alum, Luke Chakonis ('24). His friendship with Chakonis led him to visit his former club teammate at Duke to see what campus had to offer.
"Once I was up here during my sophomore year to visit my friend Luke, I knew that this was just the place I wanted to be and go to," said Wallace.
The New Jersey native announced his verbal commitment to Duke during the spring of 2022. With his goal of wrestling at the collegiate level accomplished, Wallace turned his attention to new aspirations: he wanted to shine for the Blue Devils. Yet for any student-athlete, transitioning to college often features changes and obstacles they have to adapt to.
"It was definitely a big adjustment," said Wallace. "At first, I was struggling a little bit with the academics, the wrestling, the lifting, just the whole new schedule. It was definitely tough."
During his second semester of his freshman year, Coach Lanham pulled Wallace aside and recommended he consider redshirting. At the time, Wallace was bouncing between the 157 and 165-pound weight classes, a physical feat that had him often cutting weight and hindering his performance. Lanham suggested a redshirt would help Wallace maintain in the 165-pound class and improve on and off the mat.
Redshirting was a frustrating process in itself. Wallace's passion for his sport and hunger for competition made it mentally tough for him to sit on the sidelines for the rest of the 2023-24 season.
"I wanted to start. After starting all four years at Bergen [Catholic], not starting wasn't really an option," said Wallace. "That was always the expectation for me."
Nevertheless, Wallace has never been one to back down from a challenge. He spoke on how much time he spent at practice, hitting the gym, eating right, and learning what he could during his redshirt: all the while balancing school and later, his summer internship. In fact, the frustration he originally felt from sitting bench became a source of motivation.
"I thought of that feeling of sitting on the sideline and just how I can't do that again," said Wallace.
The redshirt freshman came into the 2024-25 season feeling prepared – he knew what to expect and was stoked to get started. Looking back on it all, Wallace credits his redshirt to his progression this season: it not only helped his physical development, but also his mentality.
"I believe in myself more," said Wallace.
His coaches have noted Wallace's improvement as well. Â
"Aidan has really done a lot to improve. I think he's figured it out from his true freshman season a year ago," said Coach Lanham. "He now has a good grasp on academics, athletics and all that kind of stuff. That's helped him when he is working out, or working with Coach [Ethan] Ramos, myself and Coach [Tom] Erickson."
Assistant Director of Sports Performance Josh Jirgal, who leads strength and conditioning for wrestling, spoke highly of Wallace's hard work in the weight room.
"His focus in the weight room has increased significantly from last year and the numbers show it. We measure and record almost everything in the weight room, so it has been great to see him reap the benefits," said Jirgal. "What I'm excited about is that he still has plenty of room to develop during his time here at Duke, and I have no doubt that he is going to continue to become an even stronger, more explosive athlete."
Wallace's recent victory over Viriginia Tech's 23rd-ranked Mac Church is indicative of how much more the redshirt freshman has in store for himself and the Blue Devils this season. He was tabbed ACC Co-Wrestler of the Week on January 28 after the win.
The victory over Church was the highest-ranked win of his collegiate career and marked his first ACC dual match win as well.
So, what's next for Wallace? He's still taking it one day at a time. But the ACC and NCAA Championships now lay at the forefront of his mind.
"We're on a good roll right now, and making the NCAA's would be an amazing accomplishment for me. That would be awesome for myself, my school, my family, my friends. Just to represent Duke at the NCAA Tournament would be amazing."
Wallace's journey thus far has demonstrated that he can truly do anything he puts his mind to. You can catch him and the rest of the Blue Devils on the ACC Network Extra at their next dual away at the University of Virginia, on February 7 at 7 p.m.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils wrestling, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWRES".
Â
#GoDuke
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Wallace steps up onto the mat to cheers of "Wally!", a nickname shared among his team and fans. His demeanor is confident as he faces his opponent and the whistle blows, marking the start of what's definitely going to be another exciting match.
The redshirt freshman has every reason to exude self-confidence: his progress has positively exploded this 2024-25 wrestling season. Wallace currently boasts a 22-6 ledger, ranking tied for third in Duke's record books at 165 pounds since 1999. His performance on the mat has put his name up in the rankings, where he sits at 26th in his weight class nationally via the most recent NCAA Coaches' Rankings. Wallace has also climbed to 27th in FloWrestling, 28th in Intermat and 30th in the WrestleStat rankings at 165 pounds.
Yet, no such achievements come easily, and Wallace is an example of how far hard work, resilience, and humility can take you.
"It's awesome, but it's not over yet," said Wallace about his accolades this season. "We want to just keep going, take it match-by-match and day-by-day."
'Day-by-day' is an attitude that Wallace has carried with him throughout his wrestling career. The redshirt freshman's journey started in his hometown of Mahwah, New Jersey, where he spent his childhood playing sports like soccer, lacrosse and football on top of wrestling. Once he entered the wrestling club scene, his competitive spirit only grew from there.
"When I got into club, there would be some guys that would beat me in the town tournaments," commented Wallace. "But I kept training in the off-season and seeing results, and then started beating those guys. It was great. Once that happened and I got to high school, I stuck with wrestling."
Upon entering his freshman year at Bergen Catholic, Wallace not only set his sights on making the starting lineup, but also on elevating his performance on the mat.
"That was another successful goal for me, being in the starting lineup, and I was very excited. Then I thought 'Alright, let's not just start,'" said Wallace. "'Let's win. Let's represent myself, my family, my name and Bergen Catholic.'"
Wallace's talent and grit did not go unnoticed – at the end of his freshman year, his high school coach let him know that college programs were beginning to express interest. Once the contact period in his recruiting process arrived, Wallace got a call from Duke wrestling head coach Glen Lanham.
"When I saw that [phone] number pop up – it said 'North Carolina' – I knew it was him. I was very excited. Duke has definitely been a school I've always wanted to go to since I was little."
Wallace had grown up with family friends who were Duke basketball fans and trained at the same club with Blue Devil alum, Luke Chakonis ('24). His friendship with Chakonis led him to visit his former club teammate at Duke to see what campus had to offer.
"Once I was up here during my sophomore year to visit my friend Luke, I knew that this was just the place I wanted to be and go to," said Wallace.
The New Jersey native announced his verbal commitment to Duke during the spring of 2022. With his goal of wrestling at the collegiate level accomplished, Wallace turned his attention to new aspirations: he wanted to shine for the Blue Devils. Yet for any student-athlete, transitioning to college often features changes and obstacles they have to adapt to.
"It was definitely a big adjustment," said Wallace. "At first, I was struggling a little bit with the academics, the wrestling, the lifting, just the whole new schedule. It was definitely tough."
During his second semester of his freshman year, Coach Lanham pulled Wallace aside and recommended he consider redshirting. At the time, Wallace was bouncing between the 157 and 165-pound weight classes, a physical feat that had him often cutting weight and hindering his performance. Lanham suggested a redshirt would help Wallace maintain in the 165-pound class and improve on and off the mat.
Redshirting was a frustrating process in itself. Wallace's passion for his sport and hunger for competition made it mentally tough for him to sit on the sidelines for the rest of the 2023-24 season.
"I wanted to start. After starting all four years at Bergen [Catholic], not starting wasn't really an option," said Wallace. "That was always the expectation for me."
Nevertheless, Wallace has never been one to back down from a challenge. He spoke on how much time he spent at practice, hitting the gym, eating right, and learning what he could during his redshirt: all the while balancing school and later, his summer internship. In fact, the frustration he originally felt from sitting bench became a source of motivation.
"I thought of that feeling of sitting on the sideline and just how I can't do that again," said Wallace.
The redshirt freshman came into the 2024-25 season feeling prepared – he knew what to expect and was stoked to get started. Looking back on it all, Wallace credits his redshirt to his progression this season: it not only helped his physical development, but also his mentality.
"I believe in myself more," said Wallace.
His coaches have noted Wallace's improvement as well. Â
"Aidan has really done a lot to improve. I think he's figured it out from his true freshman season a year ago," said Coach Lanham. "He now has a good grasp on academics, athletics and all that kind of stuff. That's helped him when he is working out, or working with Coach [Ethan] Ramos, myself and Coach [Tom] Erickson."
Assistant Director of Sports Performance Josh Jirgal, who leads strength and conditioning for wrestling, spoke highly of Wallace's hard work in the weight room.
"His focus in the weight room has increased significantly from last year and the numbers show it. We measure and record almost everything in the weight room, so it has been great to see him reap the benefits," said Jirgal. "What I'm excited about is that he still has plenty of room to develop during his time here at Duke, and I have no doubt that he is going to continue to become an even stronger, more explosive athlete."
Wallace's recent victory over Viriginia Tech's 23rd-ranked Mac Church is indicative of how much more the redshirt freshman has in store for himself and the Blue Devils this season. He was tabbed ACC Co-Wrestler of the Week on January 28 after the win.
The victory over Church was the highest-ranked win of his collegiate career and marked his first ACC dual match win as well.
MAKE WAY FOR AIDAN WALLACE. ??
— Duke Wrestling (@DukeWRES) January 25, 2025
No. 26/29 Aidan Wallace seals the overtime win with a takedown over No. 22/23 Mac Church!
?? ACC Network#GoDuke pic.twitter.com/2BJK2rxAPT
So, what's next for Wallace? He's still taking it one day at a time. But the ACC and NCAA Championships now lay at the forefront of his mind.
"We're on a good roll right now, and making the NCAA's would be an amazing accomplishment for me. That would be awesome for myself, my school, my family, my friends. Just to represent Duke at the NCAA Tournament would be amazing."
Wallace's journey thus far has demonstrated that he can truly do anything he puts his mind to. You can catch him and the rest of the Blue Devils on the ACC Network Extra at their next dual away at the University of Virginia, on February 7 at 7 p.m.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils wrestling, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWRES".
Â
#GoDuke
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Players Mentioned
184
/ Wrestling
157/165
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